A primer in vampire physiology

By Benjamin Radford

We all know how fictional vampires attack their helpless prey, thanks to the deluge of vampires as depicted by such writers as Stephenie Meyer, Anne Rice, Stephen King and countless others. From “True Blood” to Twilight, vampires have never been hotter—nor more popular. Modern ideas of what vampires are, what they do and how they look can be traced back to Irish writer Bram Stoker, author of Dracula (1897).

Dateline: India—A group of sacrificial goats turned the tables on the last day of the 10-day, nine-night Navratri festival, triggering a stampede that killed 10 people inside a packed temple. “More than 45,000 devotees had thronged the temple at Tildiha village under Sambhuganj Police Station area for offering prayers and sacrificing goats when the stampede occurred,” the director general of police told the Bangalore Mirror. “As the worshippers lined up before the butcher, a scuffle broke out and some people were trampled,” Banka district spokesperson Gupdeshwar Kumar admitted. “People were vying with each other to get their goats sacrificed first, and they had a verbal duel with the butcher.” Four women and six men died in the ensuing stampede. Another 11 were injured, three of them critically. Despite the deaths, the district spokesperson said that over 40,000 goats were sacrificed at the temple that day in honor of the Goddess Durga.

Just a quick reply to the comments by "katrina2010" in last week's Alibi [Letters, “Ye Old New Mexico Debate,” Oct. 21-27]: Katrina2010, I recommend you read and study New Mexico's 400-year Hispano/Spanish history before making ignorant and utterly false statements such as the ones you made in your letter to the Alibi so you will know the difference between the Hispanos (Spanish-Americans) of New Mexico and Mexicans. Saying we are the same is like saying Scottish people are the same as English people or Irish people; or saying Koreans are the same as Japanese; or Germans as the Dutch, etc.